Is this an opportunity or not?
In my personal development course (The ‘Yoo Course’ click here to review), I talk about the 5+1 levels of “Opportunity Mindset”.
What the heck does THAT mean?
Well, as we go through life, opportunities occur. But the best ones, the ones that make life REALLY worth living, always have a particular start point…
The very word ‘Opportunity’ comes from the Latin phrase ob portum veniens which means ‘Towards your harbour (or port)’ and so to: ‘Opportunitas’ meaning “Favourable Time”.
Having coached many thousands of people over the past 25 years, I have come to recognise five (plus 1) different attitudes or ‘Mindsets’ to OPPORTUNITIES.
I wonder which category YOU would fall into…?
#1 DENIAL Your mindset tells you that there are no opportunities out there. This is quite ‘closed off’ and (to be honest) a bit sad. This person has all but given up on life… They believe they are totally ‘stuck’.
#2 IGNORE You accept that there ARE opportunities – but not for you. This speaks of helplessness and a bit of a victim mentality. I can imagine someone like this being jealous or even trying to sabotage someone else’s success
#3 ACCEPT You recognise that opportunities are out there and, as soon as you stumble over one – you’ll take it. Hmmm. Whilst better than the first two, this is still a passive and only ‘pseudo-positive’ position.
#4 FIND You look for, discover and take advantage of opportunities. Good for you – this is more like it! Up off the backside and on the hunt! Not bad!
#5 CREATE You generate opportunities for yourself. Most successful people can’t unravel the exact sequence of events that led to their ‘overnight’ success. But I can tell you it is because they took and active and creative interest in generating and building their own opportunities.
These people leverage relationships and networks. They collaborate and team up. They notice what people say – trends, gaps in the market. They try different approaches, and take ‘failure’ merely as ‘feedback’… and they try something else.
Oh – and the first three mindsets call this lot ‘Lucky’.
Level #5 on the Opportunity Mindset scale often produces another level of opportunity mindset (I call this Mindset plus 1) which is:
#6 PROVIDE I give opportunities to others!
Where are you in the above? Aim for at least a #4. If you are at #1 or #2 then what could you do to move up that list?
Yoo Wisdom: Whilst opportunities can and do simply present themselves, the best (and most satisfying) ones are self-generated. And there is no such thing as a ‘missed’ opportunity… if you don’t grab it – someone else certainly will!
Be your best Yoo
Andy and the Yoo team
PS If you want to rebuild confidence, relationships – or tear down some barriers, then check out the Yoo Personal Development Course
I have teamed up with the international learning platform Udemy, and the links in this PS carry a particularly generous discount for readers of my blog (about 90% off!).
